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Dream Chaser
The Dream Chaser is a Sonnet class "Frontier Transport", meaning it was originally designed to be a ship taken into unsafe territory. Owned by Captain Tehran "Tay" Riddle, the Dream Chaser has had extensive modifications and upgrades, and is something of the pride and joy of Tay despite the numerous quirks the Chaser has developed over the years. Description Like all Sonnets, the Chaser consists of cockpit/head attached to a boxy body with retractable stabilization wings. Hardly a sleek or sexy craft, Sonnets are seldom admired for their beauty. On top of the head of the ship is mounted the chaingun turret, which gives it a limited field of fire. There are four engines on the craft. Two main propulsion drives mounted on upper aft of the ship, just below the vertical stabilizer fins, and two lift and maneuvering drives mount in the center port and starboard. The lift drives are capable of almost 360 degree rotation and are capable of being controlled independently, giving a skilled pilot a high maneuverability. Between the two vertical stabilizer fins mounted on the top of the craft is a smaller ship, a interstellar/orbit to surface transport pod. The pod sits in a niche, so that when it is docked with the Chaser, it presents a low profile. Interior If the outside of the ship is considered unpleasing to the eye, the interior only expounds on the same principle, with a few exceptions. While throughout the ship there is paint peeling and numerous cosmetic defects, Riddle did invest a good deal of energy into making most of the crew rooms at least habitable. The VIP quarters and the captain's quarters are about the only rooms that actually had a bit of style and warmth to them, however. The ship is divided into multiple tiers, all of which are capable of being hermetically sealed in emergency situations. Tier 1 On this tier are the eight crew rooms, four on the port and four on the starboard side. The rooms are all up the upper most level, which is the main part of the ship, sitting above the large cargo bay. In the center of all the rooms is the commons area, which consists of the rec room, galley, and general living area. This is actually a pretty comfortable part of the ship, and most of the choice bits of furniture aboard the vessel made it in to this common area. This tier also contains the access hatch into the transport shuttle overhead. Tier 2 This tier consists almost exclusively of storage areas and mechanical trays, designed mostly for maintenance access and little more. Tier 2 contains access to port and starboard passenger exit hatches, as well as the ship's cockpit. Other than disembarking the craft, or traveling to the head of the ship, the only real need to go to Tier 2 is to get food stuffs out of storage, or if something goes wrong in any of the mechanical trays. There is also a small but adequate infirmary on this level. Tier 3 Tier 3 is the main cargo hold. It consists of little more than a large empty room, the aft end of which folds down and rolls out to form a massive ramp out of the ship for loading cargo. The cargo bay contains a crane that runs the entire length of the bay on a ceiling mounted track which can also be extended outside of the ship to move heavy loads inside. Tier 4 This tier is at the same elevation as Tier 3, but consists of a front portion of the main body of the ship. This is the guts of the Dream Chaser, consisting of the reactor, life support machinery, and all the other bits that make the ship work as its supposed to. This area is equipped with a good deal of emergency contingencies, such as vents that open up into space to prevent fires or potential radiation or chemical leaks from spreading. An airlock seals this tier from the rest of the ship, so in the event of a contamination within the engineering area, it would be possible to enter without contaminating the rest of the ship. Cockpit The cockpit head of the ship consists not only of the controls of the ship, but also the Captain's quarter's and the VIP quarters. From the hall way on Tier 3, it is possible to take a short flight of stairs up into the cockpit proper, where the controls are, or to take a short flight down to a dead end hallway, with doors on either side. On the starboard side of the ship is the captain's quarters, and on the port side is the VIP quarters. In a set of exposed piping above this hallway is Loki's nest, who is the ship's resident crow. Offensive and Defensive Capabilities The Dream Chaser has a rotating chain gun turret consisting of two chain guns each capable of 400 rounds per second. The weapon comes standard with 2 cm armor piercing rounds that shoot at extreme velocity, approximately 1,200 mph. This high speed is a necessity for attempting any sort of long distance engagements in space. The weapon can also be equipped with incendiary rounds that can burn through most alloys. Most Sonnet class transports have this chain gun removed, as finding ammo for it is very difficult. The Dream Chaser is not most Sonnets, however. The ship has a decent plate armor that covers most of the surface of the ship, acting as the primary defense mechanism. Like most vessels capable of faster than light speed travel, the Dream Chaser has a barrier shield designed to protect the ship from any debris or energy surges that might drift across its travel path. This shield is not intended to be used as a defense in combat, but clever mechanics are capable of boosting the output of the shield to provide an adequate protection from weaponry. Light is one of the few energy types that can penetrate the shield, however, so when the shield is in operation, the ship is under communication blackout and cannot return fire. Crew requirements To actually fly the ship, the Dream Catcher only requires one person: a pilot to actually push the buttons and pull on the steering yoke, as long as the ship was in perfect running order. All other functions would be turned over to the ship board computer, which, while functional, is far from efficient. Fully crewed, the Dream Catcher can accommodate a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, mechanic, and gunner. Pilot and Co-pilot The pilot and the co-pilot stations are directly at the front of the craft and contain duplicate arrays of controls. While most of the ship's functions can be automated, most can be switched to manual control as well, in the event of computer failure. Some pilots prefer flying manual, for various reasons. If everything is left on manual control, there is more than enough buttons and switches for two pilots to play with. Navigator A good navigator, while not a prerequisite for flying due to the computer's ability to plot courses, is highly coveted by captains. The computer will plot courses that have a near 100% success rating. What this means is that the trip is almost guaranteed to be safe (apart from the fluke accidents that simply could not be accounted for), and is guaranteed to be the slowest. While extremely high end computers are capable of taking reasonable risk calculations, these computers are usually only found in military craft and still fall short of emulating a good sentient navigator. A navigator will often shave days, sometimes weeks, off of plotted courses with simple and intuitive changes. The navigation map and computer is located on the aft starboard side of the ship's cockpit. Mechanic A mechanic a good idea for most space craft, as any sort of malfunction could potentially leave you stuck in space for the rest of your life. For a ship like the Dream Chaser, a mechanic is a must. A mechanic most likely will spend its time crawling through the guts of the ship, or down in Tier 4, where most of the machinery is. The Dream Chaser contains a quite serviceable diagnostic computer and two ARBs (Automated Repair Bots), so a decent mechanic with the right tools and parts finds maintenance on the Dream Chaser a full time headache, but one that is feasible to keep up with most of the time. The Repair Bots are not capable of replacing a mechanic, but are only there to assist the mechanic in doing menial maintenance or simply being an extra set of hands. Both of the bots are quirky, like the rest of the ship, but will follow most vocal commands. Gunner The gunner's loft is directly above the cockpit, accessible by a retractable ladder. The loft contains the manual firing controls for the gun, and access crawl way into the guts of the turret, and a cramped sleeping bunk so that a gunner could sleep near the controls during extended periods of high alert. Category:Nowhere Bound Universe